Everyone is going green these days. Our family has been working on making our home more eco-friendly. We look for energy star appliances, use cfls, bypass the disposable cups & plates, look for high percentages of recycled content in products and make sure to recycle all we can.
An often overlooked area to green your home is in your cookware choices. Here I will cover a few green tips, for the purchase of cookware and utensils.
Buy Quality
The most important rule of thumb to keep in mind, when it comes the purchase of cookware and utensils, is to buy quality items that will last. It is more costly, to both your wallet and our environment to replace a worn out pan, than to pay a little more, for a well made durable one in the first place. Look at the item you are about to buy, can you see yourself still using it in 8-10 years… if not keep looking.
Skip the Non-Stick
Forget about advanced non-stick surfaces, not only do they wear out fast, but they actually shed their coating into your food over time. These coatings are known to kill birds, when over-heated… do you really want to cook in these things.
You are much better off going with stainless steel, glass, enameled or good old fashioned cast iron pans. I have several commercial anodized pans, which are also great choices. They are incredibly durable, and provide excellent browning, much like cast iron, but are lighter, and a bit easier to clean up.
Invest in a Pressure Cooker
Pressure cookers cut cooking times by more than half, thus saving a good deal of energy, not to mention precious time. They also lock in the nutrients in your food. There is no need to fear using them anymore. New models are packed with safety features.
Bamboo Utensils
I bought my first bamboo utensil, a few months ago and I love it. Since bamboo regrows quickly, it is considered a far greener option than wood. It also doesn’t require the level of processing that metal and plastic utensils do. Bamboo has natural antibacterial properties, and is extremely strong.
There are many different bamboo utensils available these days, but of course bamboo is not a replacement for a metal spatula to scrape up browned bits in a pan. When you can’t use bamboo, just keep in mind rule #1 durability. A cheap spatula or tongs will end out needing to be replaced, good ones will last for many years.
As we move away from our disposable society, we will find there are many benefits in buying things to last. Not only will buying quality items, like the ones I’ve discussed above, be better for our environment, but will save money in the long run, and make the experience of cooking itself more pleasurable.
{ 11 comments }
Great tips! I keep trying to save money and be green but when it comes time to actually do it, it completely slips my mind. I think I should write it down from now on then I’ll finally remember. xD
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope to see you again
Stopping over from Twittermoms! Great tips…so many that I would not have considered in my day to day food preparation and cooking!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Kas
my grandparents are in their 80’s and still have the pots (non stick of course) they they got for their wedding.
so well made, and sturdy, and cook better then any pot I have ever used.
love the tips!
Interesting tips!
you are so right about quality! Its very important and saves you money (and stress) in the long run.
trisha
I never knew that about the non stick. Great tip!!!
I still don’t have a pressure cooker yet. NOT sure if I’d know what do do with it
I ditched all of the non-stick and traded in for stainless steel (a set I found nearly new on craigslist). I also just purchased some of my first bamboo spoons from pampered chef…can’t wait to get them!
Great tips! I need to do better in the green area of my life.
Thanks for the great tips! We are in desperate need of new kitchen items, and I’ll definitely keep these in mind when I’m looking.
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